Like the Ryan boys themselves, the defenses Rex and Rob Ryan call vary slightly in appearance but are cut from the same stock. They heckle opposing quarterbacks prior to the snap by shifting position, with the aim of disguising coverages and blitzes.

After the snap, they harass quarterbacks with an aggressive approach. Players rush, often unexpectedly, from any position on the field.

"The game is about getting into a rhythm," Smith said. "A lot of times when you see different schemes and different things in the back end it kind of throws your rhythm off."

Jets reporters on the Jets preparing for SaintsJets Star-Ledger reporters Darryl Slater and Mike Fensom talk about the Jets preparing for Saints and about working through practice with a bunch of injuries. (Video by William Perlman/The Star-Ledger)

Five days from kickoff, though, injuries have already disrupted the rhythm of Smith and the Jets offense. At practice today, five members of the Jets’ first-string unit were absent. Besides right guard Willie Colon, who had electric stimulation pads affixed to his injured left calf, the top four players in receiving yards did not practice.

The offense, as a result, had an unfamiliar look. Vladimir Ducasse subbed on the offensive line. David Nelson, with 12 catches over the past two weeks, took the Jets’ No. 1 receiver spot. Greg Salas, Michael Campbell and Josh Cribbs alternated around him.

Smith said he has spent extra time studying with those healthy receivers — none of whom began the season on the Jets’ active roster — to collectively understand "how to be on the same page."

Of the receivers missing, Stephen Hill and Jeremy Kerley — Smith’s two favorite targets — look most likely to face the Saints. Kerley, who leads the Jets with 27 catches for 346 yards, was ill and Hill said he watched practice today only as a precaution after he "rolled" his right foot Sunday in Cincinnati.

"I’m definitely in the game plan," said Hill, who has 23 catches for 340 yards.

Jeff Cumberland, third on the Jets with 248 receiving yards, will miss Sunday’s game, according to a Daily News report. A concussion knocked Cumberland from the game against the Bengals. His absence stretches an already thin group of tight ends. With Kellen Winslow serving the final game of a suspension Sunday, Zach Sudfeld — a rookie who nabbed his first two career receptions in Cincinnati — will likely start with Konrad Reuland seeing increased snaps.

"You have to see the same thing that your quarterback sees, and that’s been the biggest part of it," Sudfeld said about developing rapport with Smith as he sees more snaps. "It’s one thing to see it on a card. It’s another thing to go out there and see what the defense is doing and adjust to it."

The wild card Sunday figures to be Santonio Holmes. The Jets’ No. 1 receiver hasn’t participated in a game or practice since Sept. 29 due to a right hamstring injury. Yet his activity in drills today — leading the Jets wide receivers through routes — offered a flicker of encouragement that a return could come this week, even if his designation on the injury report remained under the "did not participate" category.

"Today was just a little bit better," Holmes said. "Today was the first day I was able to run a route and feel good about it."

It showed. During individual drills, Holmes burst out of a cut and caught a fastball from Smith. Twenty yards away, David Garrard shouted, "I see you No. 10." Whether the same can be said Sunday is yet unknown.
Star-Ledger staff writer Darryl Slater contributed to this report.